AUBURN HILLS -- Ben Gordon returned to The Palace Sunday for the first time since being traded from the Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Before the game he took a little time to reflect on his tenure in Detroit and admitted in his eyes it was a failure.

"Yeah (it was a failure) because when I came here, obviously this is a storied organization, when I signed I had visions of being in the playoffs and things of that nature, and we didn't make the playoffs while I was here," Gordon said.

"In my estimation that was kind of disappointing. I thought we had the talent and good enough team and things like that, but for whatever reason wasn't able to reach that goal of making the playoffs and being one of the better teams in the East. That's something I think about and just try to learn from it."

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Despite not reaching some of his goals while a member of the Pistons, Gordon said he doesn't have any regrets.

He admits he still thinks about why it didn't work in Detroit and has tried to learn from it.

"I think about that a lot," Gordon said when asked why it didn't work in Detroit. "A lot of different reasons, but as anything else in life, you just try to learn from it. You learn from your failures and try to move on and get better. That's what I've tried to do in my situation here. Any other situation that I've had in my life, I just try and progress and make progress as I go forward in life.

"There is always something to be learned so I just try to take the plusses with the minuses. Focus more on the positives and just move forward and see how I can do better where I'm at the next time."

Gordon averaged 12.4 points a game in three seasons in Detroit after averaging 18.5 points in five seasons in Chicago, including two seasons where he averaged more than 20 points a game.

For whatever reason Gordon couldn't score at the same rate in Detroit as he did in Chicago and failed to live up to the five-year, $55 million deal the Pistons signed him to.

"I think my role here was a lot different," Gordon said. "In Chicago I came off the bench, but I also started a lot of games too. I played a lot more there. It was just a completely different situation. I would have liked to have the same or better sucess here that I did previously in my career, it just didn't work out that way. I had a good time here with my teammates and the fans here and it's something I will remember."

Entering Sunday night, Gordon is averaging 13.4 points a game for the Bobcats (8-24).

The 29-year-old is one of the elder statesmen on the young Charlotte squad.

Gordon said he's used what he learned from his time in Detroit and carried it over to Charlotte.

"I try to be a little more patient," Gordon said. "Just try to help the younger guys. That's something I think I've been able to do here a little bit more, just be being a little bit more vocal with the younger guys. Just trying to share some of the things that I've learned in my ninth season in the NBA. Share some of that so as they move on they're trip will be a little bit easier."

Dave Pemberton covers the Pistons for The Oakland Press. Email him at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @drpemberton.